A Thousand Paper Cranes
by ReachingOutFES
Summary: "Sometimes, you've got to make your own wish come true with your own two hands." One-Shot. Read and Review! (Beta Read by Gin Nanashi)


**Author's Note: I know you people wanted a story, but I have no clue on how to do it! Anyway I hope to do it soon… Meanwhile enjoy this one-shot that was begging to be written. It's a bit different from my usual stuff, so please enjoy! Thanks to Gin Nanashi for editing and Beta Read. Here are lovely words from her!**

**Gin Nanashi: I've got nothing more to say than to enjoy this little one-shot! :D**

**By the way… Review and favorite this story as well as my other stories so please check them out. Don't forget to check out Gin's stories as well… Please? :")**

**Enjoy!**

**Monday, March 20, 2012**

_Everything's really back to normal now..._

Yu Narukami gazed up at the darkening sky from the porch of the Dojima residence with a small smile on his lips.

_The Fog of deception has been lifted and, no matter what, we'll never let the Truth be shrouded again._

Everything that had happened in Inaba since his first step into the countryside–the mysterious murders, the TV World, Personas, all of the close calls and surprising twists–has finally come to an end.

_Heh, what a long journey that was…_

His eyes closed as his smile widened a bit.

_But I'm glad to have come here, to Inaba, my home away from home._

"Big Bro," his younger cousin's voice called to him from inside, "Dinner's ready!"

"Ah, coming," Yu answered, getting up and returning inside before settling down at the low table, "We're having sushi?"

"Yeah, well, might as well go with a bang," Ryotaro, or Uncle Dojima, coughed, "At least, until you come back, of course."

"That's right," Nanako chirped as she smiled up at her cousin, "You'll come back soon, won't you, Big Bro?"

"Yeah," Yu easily returned her smile, "As soon as break starts, I'll come back. I promise."

She beamed up at him before looking down with a blush and squirming a bit, "Um, Big Bro…?"

He blinked and tilted his head in question, "Yes?"

Peeking shyly up at him, Nanako asked, "Will you tell me a bedtime story one more time before you leave?"

His eyes softened and he nodded readily, "Of course, Nanako, whatever you want."

"Say," Uncle Dojima spoke up after a moment of peaceful eating, "Have you finished packing already?"

"Aa," Yu nodded and set down his chopsticks with a soft whisper of thanks, "I finished last night and double-checked it earlier."

The detective nodded in satisfaction, "Good. It's always better to be prepared than to get caught off-guard."

Small hands tugged on his sleeve and Yu turned to see Nanako bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Ready, Big Bro?" she asked with an expectant smile.

He glanced over at Uncle Dojima but the man simply waved him off with a gruff laugh,

"Go. I'll take care of the dishes tonight."

Smiling, Yu turned back to the young girl and nodded, "I'm ready."

"Yay!" she laughed and turned to skip off to her room.

Standing up, Yu stretched for a moment before turning to follow her upstairs at a much slower pace.

By the time he reached her room, the once-closed door suddenly swung open and Nanako appeared in her cute, pink pajamas.

"Come on in," she chirped, grabbing his hand and pulling him into her room, "I already brushed my teeth and everything!"

Her bedroom was neatly decorated with a few plush toys–the most noticeable of which was the Teddie doll, which was given to her by, well, _Teddie_–along with modest furniture and drapery.

Nanako released her grip on his hand as she slipped into her futon before Yu knelt down and tucked her in.

"Well then," he asked, sitting down, "What kind of story do you want to hear about?"

"Um…" she thought for a moment, "Oh, I know! Why don't you make one up?"

At this, he blinked, having been caught off-guard by her request, "Are you sure, Nanako…?"

"I don't mind," she smiled brightly, "Whatever Big Bro makes up is bound to be interesting!"

Yu could only deadpan at that.

_Okay… Now what?_

He technically _could_ make up a story on the spot but it wouldn't be as interesting as she was expecting it to be (and he knew that she would be expecting a lot from her Big Bro).

A detective's daughter aside, Nanako was a naturally smart girl after all and she'd be able to pick out each and every inconsistency in an impromptu narrative from an inexperienced storyteller such as he.

Feeling a bit pressured (though it would _never_ show), Yu looked around the room for an idea before an object sitting on top of the mahogany desk caught his eye.

_That paper crane..._

Yu recognized it as the same one that he'd made for Nanako on the first day he'd arrived in Inaba…

_She used to be so shy and cute, _he thought fondly to himself, _Then again, she's at her cutest when she's confident…_

Suddenly, an idea spawned in his mind and he smiled down at his cousin.

"Ah, I think I've got a story in mind," his eyes twinkled, "Would you like to hear it, Nanako?"

"Yes, please!" she immediately chimed back.

He nodded and shifted to a more comfortable position before starting:

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who struggled to find meaning in his lonely life…"

_Tick, tock, tick, tock…_

_The constant rhythm of the living room clock was the only sound that broke the otherwise still silence..._

"It was unfortunate but his parents were hardly ever around, constantly working and working themselves to the bone in order to obtain the many luxuries that they dreamt of for their little family."

_"We'll be back later," She said, kissing his cheeks, "So be a good boy and wait for us, okay?"_

_"But make sure you go to bed early," He said, ruffling his hair, "Sleep is good for your body and you'll need to grow big and strong one day!"_

"Despite all of their good intentions, they never realized that the little boy would constantly wonder if his parents would ever spend time with him, if he would ever be more important than work…"

Yu would have continued with his tale but he noticed that Nanako was surprised and melancholic with a small frown on her lips.

_Probably because all of our other stories started out less depressing..._

Yu thought, sweating a bit before smiling at her, "Don't worry, Nanako, I promise that it'll get better."

She bit her lower lip before nodding in acquiescence and Yu tapped his lips in thought before saying, "For the purpose of this story, let's call the little boy _Souji_."

Straightening up a bit, Nanako closed her eyes and tried to visualize everything as Yu continued:

"Because his parents were often away, Souji spent most of his time under the care of his next-door neighbor."

_"Ara, are they out again?" an elderly woman murmured, "I suppose it can't be helped…"_

"She was an elderly woman, a bit stern-looking but with a kind heart. She'd taken notice of the boy's well-hidden loneliness as he did nothing more than wait for his parents to return to him. Hoping to help, she invited him over to keep him company."

_"Come now," she urged him softly, "Sitting there won't do you any good. Besides, I've got some cookies that need to go."_

"But the boy didn't want to because there was this great, big window in his house that he loved looking out of…because he would soon see his parents returning."

_Like a glass into another world, he pretended that each and every one of those people walking by cared for him in some way…that one of those people would one day turn and look up and _see him _there…that one of those people would be his parents as they _finally _returned to greet him with smiles and hugs and promises of staying home for more than mere hours..._

"Then, one day, he learned that his parents were leaving on a business trip that would take three months to complete."

_"I'm so sorry," She said, hugging him tightly, "But we can't turn this down."_

_"Don't worry," He said, clasping a hand on his shoulder, "We'll be back before you know it!"_

"Compared to the few days that they were gone before, three months seemed to be extraordinarily long for Souji and he found himself becoming more and more anxious, fearing that he'd finally been abandoned."

_"Is this it…?" he thought to himself as he hugged his knees to his chest, shivering despite the summer heat, "Will I be left alone for good this time…?"_

"But his neighbor refused to leave him alone and finally ended up swooping him away from that lonely place and into her home."

"She wasn't mean to Souji-kun, was she?" Nanako suddenly asked with wide eyes, having imagined the old woman flying away with the little boy into the dark of the night.

"No. Not at all," Yu quickly reassured her with a soft chuckle before continuing:

"Souji knew that the elderly lady meant well but her apartment didn't have the same view as his did and so his dreamworld disappeared."

_Instead of the many faceless people walking by, all that he saw now was the cold, gray cement floor of the parking lot and the lifeless cars that drove by…_

"It was as if his world had suddenly shrunk, as if he'd been surrounded by impenetrable darkness, and his loneliness became tenfold…"

_"I guess," he thought to himself, feeling his heart clench painfully, "I'm just meant to be alone…"_

"But then he _saw_ it. He noticed the inside of his neighbor's home. It was _bright_. It was _colorful_. It was _filled_ to brim with paper animals and carefully crafted origami."

_Cats and foxes and turtles and fishes and hearts and boxes…_

_He couldn't possibly name everything that his eyes had landed on._

"At one point, he'd even believed that the animals were _alive_."

_Because there was no way they weren't when they told a story:_

_The little city cat had gotten lost and bumbled its way into the forest, meeting a sly fox who told it to bring back a fish in exchange for help, but, before it could jump into the river, a turtle snapped at its paw and warned it of the fox's cunning nature before directing it to a heart-shaped tree, under which was a box that got picked up by humans every morning..._

"When the woman noticed Souji gazing at her artwork, she asked him if he liked them. When he replied positively, she asked him which was his favorite. Can you guess what he said?"

"Um…" Nanako furrowed her brows but, with little to no clues from the story, she could only shake her head.

A small grin appeared on his lips as Yu continued:

"The crane."

_They floated in the air on thin, near-invisible, strings and looked like they were all flying_ together _in a giant flock, like they were free_ _to be with their loved ones._

"Seeing how fascinated he was with those graceful birds, the elderly woman decided to pass her skills onto him…"

_He watched as seemingly weak and gnarled fingers nimbly and gracefully folded and flipped and _changed _the plain square paper into a colorful crane that looked ready to take off..._

"At first, Souji simply watched her, committing each and every step to memory, before he finally gained the courage to try it on his own…"

_A gasp left his lips and he grimaced at the stinging paper cut._

_"This," he sulked for a moment, "Is harder than I thought…"_

_"Patience," she said and placed down her third one, "You're much too hasty in creating the little one."_

"It took him dozens and dozens of paper cuts and most of his cranes came out wrinkled or lopsided or awkward but, when he finally perfected one, the feeling that he felt…"

_Strong wings spread out like billowing kimono sleeves…_

_A slender neck arched towards the white sky…_

_Its dainty head tilted up in a proud and majestic manner..._

"It was a _glorious _feeling."

_"I did it," he whispered to himself before excitement overtook him, "I did it! Look, look, Obaa-chan! I finally did it! My very own paper crane!"_

"Of course, his neighbor looked on in pride and fondness but she never stopped teaching him and, soon enough, Souji was able to create a perfect crane out of any and every material he could find."

_Big or small…_

_Paper or cloth…_

"'I'm not alone anymore,' he said to the elderly woman as he watched the cranes flutter on the table from a breeze, 'Thank you for showing me my new friends!'"

_"Oh?" she raised a brow, "Then what am I?"_

_"Of course," he was quick to reassure her with a smile, "You're my friend too!"_

"Something about his words made the elderly woman fall silent for a moment before she suddenly told him, 'You know, Souji-kun, there's a story behind the paper crane.'"

_"A story?" he echoed with wide eyes, "What kind of story…?"_

"'It is said,' she smiled with a twinkle in her eyes, 'That when a thousand paper cranes were made, any one wish would then be granted.'"

_"_Any _wish…?" he thought to himself, looking at all of the cranes surrounding him, "Then maybe… Maybe I'll _never _be alone ever again...!"_

"But a thousand paper cranes was quite a lot. 'Where,' the boy wondered, 'Am I going to put them all? I don't want to stick them in a box…!'"

_"They're my friends," he insisted, "It would be too sad to hide them away…_"

"'Because they make you smile, yes?' she said knowingly before suggesting, 'Why don't you give them away?'"

_"If they make you smile," she reasoned, "Then they'll make others smile too."_

"Although she never told him so, she'd hoped that each and every one of Souji's paper crane would pave the way for him to make real friends…"

_He thought and thought and thought on her words before he smiled and held his very first perfect crane out to her,_

_"You'll always be my first friend, okay?"_

"Time passed and, before he knew it, his parents finally came back. He'd had so much fun at his older friend's home that he'd forgotten to keep track of the days. Still, the first thing that Souji did when he saw them was hold three paper cranes out to them…"

_"Here you go, mother, father!" he smiled brightly at them, "Welcome home!"_

_And they almost cried as they wrapped their arms around him, laughing, "We're home, Yu… We're finally home."_

"A while later, Souji and his family had to move away because of his parents' work but he never forgot that elderly lady nor did he ever forget her words as he continued making crane after crane and giving them away until finally…"

"His wish came true, right?" Nanako asked sleepily with a silly grin, "He's no longer lonely, right, Big Bro?"

"That's right," Yu smiled, brushing her hair away from her face, "Souji had wished to never be alone ever again, to always be surrounded by the people he loved and was loved by, and he's with those people now."

An unbidden yawn escaped her lips as she snuggled into her futon, still smiling.

"I'm glad," came her soft whisper as she drifted off to dreamland, "No one should be all alone…"

_That's right,_ his eyes softened at her words, _No one should ever have to face that kind of pain…_

"Good night, Nanako," Yu whispered as her breathing evened out before he stood up and exited her room quietly, "Sleep tight…"

.

.

.

Lying down on his bed, Yu stared up at the ceiling as he ruminated on the little story he told his young cousin before shifting to look at the family of three cranes sitting on his own desk.

_It's been a while, _he realized, _since I'd last folded one._

How many had he made since that day so long ago?

_Too many…so many that I've lost count…_

Still, his heart felt warm in remembrance.

_Oh well… That's okay…_

And his eyes began to flutter closed.

_It's already come true after all..._

His lips twitched up into a gentle smile.

_I'm not alone anymore._

**Owari**


End file.
